Friday, May 27, 2005

Investigators say as Jessica Lunsford lay bound in murder suspect John Couey's closet, they were misled as to his whereabouts — something records released Thursday suggest could have cost the 9-year-old girl her life.

"If they would have checked the closet the first day, she would still be alive," Couey's 15-year-old niece told investigators, according to transcripts.

The March 29 interview is part of more than 1,400 pages of documents released by the State Attorney's Office. The pages of evidence, interviews and material are the latest revelations in the case against Couey, who faces charges of capital murder, burglary, kidnapping and sexual battery after prosecutors say he entered the girl's home and held her captive before killing her. Read the rest of the Citrus County Chronicle article HERE.